Bangladesh is set to celebrate the Victory Day, the most precious day of the Bangladeshis, on December 16 (Monday) as the country was liberated from the Pakistani occupation forces on that day in 1971 after a nine-month-long bloodstained War of Liberation.
To commemorate the Liberation War of 1971, India and Bangladesh invite each other’s War Veterans and serving officers to participate annually in each other’s Victory Day celebrations, said the High Commission of India in Bangladesh through an official facebook post.
On the 53th anniversary of the Liberation War, eight valiant Muktijoddhas and two serving officers of Bangladesh Armed Forces departed for India on Sunday to participate in Vijay Diwas celebrations at Kolkata. Similarly, eight Indian War Veterans and two serving officers of Indian Armed Forces reached Dhaka to participate in Bangladesh’s Victory Day celebrations, said the High Commission.
These bilateral visits provide a platform for Bangladesh Muktijoddhas and Indian War Veterans to celebrate the unique friendship of the two countries and to renew memories of the Liberation War. This memory epitomises the shared sacrifices of the armed forces of India and Bangladesh for the cause of Bangladesh’s freedom from occupation, oppression and mass atrocities, said the High Commission.
On this day in 1971, the Pakistani armed forces led by General A A K Niazi had surrendered before the Indian army and the Mukti-Bahini liberation force of Bangladesh with over 90,000 of his troops.